Sunday, September 30, 2007

Out of Town and Miscellaneous...

I recently heard a rumour there had been an old airfield (pre-WW2) somewhere in the fields behind my house (near Newlands Road), that run between Ramsgate and Broadstairs.

After doing a bit of digging, I found that indeed there was, and as it turned out, Ramsgate had it's own Municipal Airport! (And I don't mean Kent International at Manston!)

The airfield was situated next to Pyson's Road, with the main entrance from Rumfields Road, and was known as Ramsgate Municipal Airport.

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Ramsgate Airfield, early 1930's

Airfield site, 2007Pysons Road is to the left, running from top to bottom in both pictures (top towards Ramsgate, bottom towards Broadstairs). The footprint of the old airfield site remains, but has since been covered by industrial buildings, showrooms and workshops, with newer roads intersecting it. There is little left on the ground to show that this was once a bustling local airport prior to World War 2

I'm not sure of the exact dates the airport was in use, but I believe it's heyday was in the late 1930's, but was actually in use right up until the late 1960's(?)

Ramsgate Municipal Airport, 1937The "new" terminal building can be seen towards the rear of the field, in front of the hangar

Same view, 2007Now a retail and industrial complex

The site is now an industrial estate, it's largest occupant being the Sericol ink factory, however, the names of the new roads that intersect the estate give a clue as to it's previous life, with names such as Anson Close, Blenheim Close, etc, no doubt named after the classic planes that graced the airfield in it's heyday.

The 'new' terminal building, 1937This was a revolutionary design at the time, and I believe won some architectural awards. Note the water tower in the background, still a prominent landmark on Rumfields Road.

Same view, 2007

The water tower on Rumfields Road is still the dominant feature of the skyline

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View from the passenger lounge, 1937

The terminal bar, 1937

A pilot indulging in a nice beverage! (hopefully after his flight and not before!)

A DeHavilland Tiger Moth ready for take off! (c.1937)

These legendary aircraft were used as trainers by the RAF at the start of the second world war. The terminal building is in background.

26 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Iremember this site after it fell into disuse and before it was developed. I remember too the old terminal building. Look at a bomb map of this area, it was peppered with bombs during WW2 even though it was a civil airfield.

Found this site after researching David Bouverie, grandson of 5th earl of Radnor; architect who designed this Ramsgate Aerodrome Terminal. Thanks for preserving the history of this interesting building!

Skyways Coach Air flew out of Lympne, near Hythe in the 1950s and60s. They initially used Dakotas, but never carried cars. Silver City Airways, and later British United Air Ferries, flew cars in Bristol Freighters, out of Lympne, and later from Lydd. Neither company used Ramsgate.

I worked at the airport in Ramsgate for the summers of 1959 and 1960, loading passengers onto the Percival Prentices for Maitland Air Charters who were running the pleasure flights at that time. They were the best summers of my life, I went up in the planes a lot myself.

Hi All - Just wanted to say thankyou for all your positive comments and questions. Sorry I haven't been able to reply to individual questions as yet, but will try to do so as soon as I get some time! Stay tuned, as there are more updates to the site pending! ;-)

I remember going for a pleasure flight in a single-engine, four-seater light aircract from an airfield near Minster in Thanet, where we were staying in the mid-60s. The pilot was a lady and I sat in the front right seat, my father in the back. It was probably the experience that started my love of flying. The question is, was it from Ramsgate? I shall try to find the photograph of the aircraft.

The lady pilot was Chris(tine) Roberts who with her husband owned several aircraft including the Percival Procter that they gave flights in. I know because I also flew in it. As I went to the adjacent Dane Court School and an aircraft enthusiast I saw a lot between 1958 to 1962. Ian Nicholls

I lived in nearby Northwood Road and in the early 50s played lots of cricket on the concrete apron in front of the disused hangar. We chalked the wicket on the hangar doors. I thought then as a boy that the airport was permanently derelict.But then in 1958 after being away from Ramsgate for a couple of years I found - in a very scary way - that aircraft had started using it again. Late one afternoon, returning home from Broadstairs, I took a short cut across the 'disused airfield', as I thought of it, only to hear the sound of an aircraft approaching. I turned to see a single-engined plane heading straight for me at a very low level. I threw myself to the ground, in some panic, and it passed just overhead. I picked myself up and started running to the perimeter, when the sadistic berk piloting it turned and did the same thing again. I still, all these years later, recall my fear at that North by Northwest moment and feel a spurt of anger towards that nasty piece of work.

I also had my first flight from Ramsgate airport as a lad of about ten.My brother was home on leave from the RAF and managed to russel up the 7s6p for my flight.We spent many a summer there as our house was on the Margate road.The old hanger is still there but the main terminal building has long gone.What a discrace it would have made fine offices.The front of the building was laid out with tables and chairs of deco design made of metal in various colours, two of which i came across a few years ago and are now in my garden in Rainham. Happy days.

i remember living in at Rumfields Road in the 70s when the housing estate was being built behind us. We used to go and play on the field at the back- they used if for storing new cars at the time, but there was a aircraft hanger- we went in and found old plane parts. I recall my dad saying it was a airfield. I can see the water tower now as it was then- even though we now live in west mids

Hello all, the views posted of 'then ane now' are one road 'too far down' toward Broadstairs, the actual location of the airport building was on the right of Hopes Lane, [as you look toward Northwood road, yes the hanger IS still there, so one can get a fairly good bearing from this building/hanger as the Hopes lane turns left at the first corner, you can see 3 or 4 metal bollards, then a small car parking area, the building you are now looking at in the background is the hanger, turn 180degrees & to your left, approximately 30meters ahead is the location of the airport terminal site. The first building to go up was b.o.c. the now Sericol building, I dispair when I look back & see how Ramsgate has been asset stripped since the mid seventies, it is so wrong.

My grandmother trained to fly at this airport pre ww2. We have her old log book somewhere in the family which shows her last flight as being mid 1939, I think she flew tiger moths?? Not long after and the outbreak of war put an end to it all. She always claimed to be thanets first female pilot. The road names on the industrial site are named after old aircraft.